Property owner doesn't like city regs

An Albany rental property owner says vagrants did more than $10,000 damage to one of his duplexes Thursday morning, and he says city code hurts his ability to get full insurance coverage.

P&T Rentals owner Patrick Prince says vagrants stripped the his North Jackson Street duplex of electrical wiring, plumbing, and the air conditioning system. They also stole his refrigerator.

While the duplex was being refurbished, he boarded it up and secured it as required by city code.

But he says insurance companies use that as an excuse to lower their coverage limits. Prince said he hopes the city code enforcement or the state Insurance Commissioner can come up with a solution, so that when rentals are boarded up, insurance companies can not drop their coverage level.

Prince says he has rental units broken into or stripped by copper thieves on a regular basis.